Borrowers: Again
by wickedboy89
Summary: An American boy moves from the big NYC to the English Country side and encounters a breed of people that are said to be fantasy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the idea of the Borrowers, nor are these characters real people or supposed to resemble real people. This also a work in progress so ideas and suggestions are definitely welcomed.

**Borrowers: Again.**

**Introduction:**

Have you ever put something down for a second, and tell yourself that you will come back to get it later? But when you do come back it is gone…vanished. It is never the really big things. It is always small things. A button that fell off of your blouse, a watch that needs a battery replaced, even a Christmas light that needs to be changed out. The bad thing is you find them again when you least expect it and have not thought about in a long time. These objects were not lost. They were, in fact, borrowed. You don't believe me? Well here is my account of Borrowers.

**Chapter 1- A New House**

The drive seemed like it took forever. We were moving again, but this time they promised we would stay put. Oh, the joys of being an army brat. This was my 7th move in the past 5 years. I was going to be a freshman in high school this fall in New York City, but now I am moving to the middle of nowhere in a new country (the 3rd one I have lived in, as well.)

We had flown into Gatwick airport last night, but our flight had been delayed so we stayed the night to wait for our car to get there. We were moving from NYC to the Lake Country of England. At least, I was not going to have to learn a new language this time. But I was still not excited. My "friends" were over 2000 miles away, and my family was all over the US and not here. I am also an only child, so no siblings.

As the car drove down the motor way I began to see less buildings and more farms and trees the further we got from Gatwick. We were going to a small village called Grasmere. Apparently Mother had some long lost relative who had retired there and passed away and left the closest living relative their manor house...we won the prize. Mother keeps telling me to think of it as a vacation from the life we have been living. Dad is retiring in December from the military so the US Army gave him early leave to help us move. He will be traveling back and forth though from Washington and London until the first week of December. So Mother and I will be on our own for about six months as it is only June.

We are about five miles away from the house when the daily rainfall begins. It is unlike any rain I have ever seen. It is not torrential downpour; nor is it just a drizzle. It is sort of like a daily cleansing of the country side. It was very relaxing to watch, but then the realization that I still had unpacking to do came to mind. UGH! I was now upset and unrelaxed again.

Soon enough we were pulling into the drive of the property. I could not see the house yet, but the driveway was lined with oak trees and was awespiring to see. It was unlike anywhere we had ever lived. It was like out of a Jane Austin novel. I was amazed. The drive way seemed to go on forever. We eventually made it to the house. It was old but well kept. It was not too big not too small. There were ivy vines trailing the walls that were the color of a Frapaccino from Starbucks. It was beautiful. I was starting to feel better about this move.

The inside was slightly a different story than the outside. It was like no one had lived here in months. Covered in drop cloths, dust, and cobwebs, the inside looked…just old. It was also cramped and creaky. It had that old world charm though so I was going to manage fine.

I climbed up the stairs to go find my room. I picked the one that had plenty of windows and that faced out to the meadow behind our house. I had a great view of the forest and meadow and garden in our yard. The garden was massive and very well kept. I would find out later that our Housekeeper had a bit of a green thumb and was left the garden in the predecessors will. Apparently our furniture had been here for a few days and the few people of staff we had moved our furniture to the prospective rooms already. Luckily they had picked the one I liked the best. I plopped down on my bed and was almost asleep when I thought I heard something moving under my bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- A New Being**

My name is Dedrick Hearth. My family and I are Innies—meaning we live indoors. We come from a long line of fireplace dwellers. Yes, that sounds dangerous but we are more adventurous than most Innies. Father, Harold, comes from a family of Innie-Outies—these are Borrowers who were formally Outies who had to take refuge indoors during World War 2 to stay alive and ended up liking the comforts of home so much they stayed inside except on holiday. My mother, Priscilla, was an Outie from Sherwood and my father met her on a very long holiday one summer in the 70's. I am one of three of their children. My eldest brother, Grantville—Grant for short—is a 27 year-old, self proclaimed Outie who lives in the back garden on his own. He is very adventurous and a little rebellious at times. Then last and very dear to me is my twin sister, Henrietta. She is my best friend in the whole world. We are identical except she has long hair and is a girl. We do everything together. I would be devastated if anything ever happened to her. But right now she is safe at home, I am the one trapped under a bed with a Being standing in the way of my only exit—the door.

"This is just great!" I thought aloud. "Humans in our house!" I was not happy. My parents would not be pleased either. We had been living in this quiet house for almost 4 years now. The previous Being—as we called the humans—had passed away and left the place abandoned. Now, though, the lawyers had found the will and had contacted the next of kin and they had moved in. "What are we to do now?" First I decided I needed to find a way out from under this bed. I was pacing and thinking very hard when the next worst possible thing occurred. The Being plopped on to his bed.

"Now what am I to do? He is not going to go anywhere anytime soon, and I can't very well run for the door he will see me!" How did I manage to get myself into this predicament? We have not had to deal with Beings since we moved in and there I was trapped under a bed with no out on my first real encounter with one. My parents were going to be so worried. I was just out to find a bobby pin for my mother to use to fix our clothesline, and my first thought was to check an upstairs bedroom. Lucky me, I chose the one where the new arrival would be sleeping. Oh joy! "I guess my best bet is to wait until night fall and make sure he is asleep." I said quietly to myself. "Otherwise, if I leave now he might think I'm a mouse or a rat, and then he will ask his parents to call an exterminator which is almost a worse scenario." So I sat down on the floorboard and tried to think pleasant thoughts while not thinking about food because I knew I would be missing dinner—and I never miss a meal.

"Mum is going to be in a tizzy when I finally do get home." I sighed. Tonight was one of the few nights during the summer that Grant was to be home for supper. Since he became an Outie we hardly ever see him, so it is a very big ordeal when he does come inside for dinner with us. "The whole family is going to be so disappointed in me tonight—again." My pleasant thoughts were quickly being drowned out by depressing things.

I am a young Borrower, only 18. I have a lot to learn still, and I am not very good at it yet. I have been seen by multiple animals, father has had to save me over 20 times while I have been borrowing with or without supervision, and tonight I swore to my mother I would only be gone for 2 hours and I would return home way before dinner. I was failing at life today.

With those thoughts, I collapsed on the floor and stared up at the box springs above my head. "This has been the worst day ever." I said, exasperated with myself. I turned on my side and could see the far western window. "Thank goodness the sun is setting, hopefully he will either leave the room or be sleeping with in the next hour." With that final thought, I slowly started to calm down.

…**Chapter 2 is done and I have edited Chapter 1 for some clarity. I am still having a hard time coming up for a name for the Beings…but my Borrowing family is perfect in my head. And yes this story is going to be told by two voices…the being and Dedrick. If you like this idea or don't let me know…comments have been great! **


End file.
